Washington, Jan. 10 – Recently, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined former Gov. Mike Huckabee in making medical science a top priority. Clinton announced that she wants to invest $2 billion a year in funding for Alzheimer’s disease research.

In the announcement, Clinton focused on the massive human cost of Alzheimer’s. However, it also has a massive financial cost so big that it can impact everything that the government does. Meanwhile, somewhere in America, in the next minute (and roughly every minute after that), another American will develop Alzheimer’s or dementia. This is especially important to the disability community because adding Alzheimer’s to an existing disability compounds challenges in big ways.

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Washington, Nov. 28 – By publicly poking fun at an award-winning reporter who has significant physical disabilities, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump expanded stigmas that have been undermining people with disabilities for ages.

It’s now been more than 25 years since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). True, physical architecture and some educational opportunities thankfully have changed. But negative attitudes and stigmas about people with disabilities – because of people like Donald Trump – have not. This leads to poverty, powerlessness and even worse situations for people with disabilities.

Las Vegas, Oct. 14 – This year our nation celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. This landmark legislation has opened opportunities for all individuals to more openly participate in society, including access to employment. There is one population, however, that continues to remain unemployed and underemployed at greater rates than other populations – people with disabilities. In order to initiate more hiring and employment opportunities in the federal government, the Obama Administration implemented several requirements, including:

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Washington, August 11 – Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has made no secret that he doesn’t like many people – and when he doesn’t like you, he’ll call you a “loser.” At the Fox News debate last week, Trump added another word: “stupid.” He uses these two words interchangeably to talk about other candidates, reporters, and people he doesn’t like.

“Our leaders are stupid,” Trump said when answering a question about immigration after laughing off his record of misogyny. “Our politicians are stupid.”

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Cleveland, August 8 – Representing Gov. John Kasich following the Fox News debate in Cleveland on Thursday evening, Sen. John Sununu discussed Kasich’s “message of inclusiveness.” Kasich would “build our economy up so we have the resources to make sure that people are not left behind,” Sununu added.

Read his entire interview:

Q: If I were a voter with a disability, what would the candidate’s message be to why they should vote for him?

Sununu: I think really John spoke to that issue a couple of times tonight. The understanding that economic growth isn’t an end in and of itself. We build our economy up so we have the resources to make sure that people are not left behind. If they have a disability, a mental illness, a drug addiction, that they know that there is going to be someone there for them trying to ensure that they have as many opportunities as anyone else in society. And that’s the way John lives his life. That’s the way he’s served in Congress; that’s clearly the way he’s led here in Ohio.

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Cleveland, August 8 – Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie is “trying to get people back into the workforce,” Mike DuHaime, the governor’s chief political strategist, said to The RespectAbility Report following the Fox News Debate Thursday evening. Read his entire interview:

Q: For the one in five Americans with a disability, what is the message that Gov. Christie carries for them? Why should they vote for him?

DuHaime: Well, certainly Gov. Christie is someone who worked hard in New Jersey as governor. He’s got a record working for and with people with disabilities. Certainly he’s done the right thing in terms of funding and doing things for programs. He’s got a record that backs up working with the community and fighting for them, so I think that will play out over time, probably, if we didn’t have any question on that at the debate tonight. He’s certainly gotten questions on it at town halls in New Hampshire. I think you continue to see that and he’ll articulate that.

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Cleveland, August 8 – Texas State Sen. Brian Birdwell, speaking on behalf of Sen. Ted Cruz, said the Republican presidential hopeful wants every American, including people wth disabilities, to “be the best you can be with whatever ability you have.” Below is the interview he had with The RespectAbility Report following the Fox News Debate Thursday evening:

Q: We write for a disability publication specifically for Americans with disabilities. So you have a Governor with a disability and one out of five Americans has a disability.

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Cleveland, August 5 – Gov. Nikki Haley is calling for more presidential candidates to discuss the importance of employing people with disabilities.

“Opportunity should be an issue in every campaign cycle,” the governor of South Carolina said in an exclusive interview with The RespectAbility Report in Cleveland. “Our goal is to get as many people back to work, whether it’s veterans, whether it’s those with disabilities, whether it’s those with challenges, and we’re finding that businesses in South Carolina want to help.”